Illinois Oz Festival 2025: A Rousing Good Time!

 It's that time of the year again and Amanda and I find ourselves heading westward towards Mapleton, Illinois and the annual Illinois Oz Festival. This is a wonderful festival and we attend every year since the beginning long ago as Guest Authors. 

You can tell we're near the Land of Oz.

 

Once we arrive, we're greeted by the Gang of Loons, whom we consider all to be good friends. 

 

After a bit of setting up and getting comfortable, Amanda and I are now ready to share our Vision of Oz with all the visitors and patrons.

Soon, the sounds of Oz come wafting towards us from the Main Pavilion and before you know, we're off to see the wizard.

The Butler Haynes Park, where this festival is held every year, is truly dedicated to promoting all things Oz by building a dedicated Yellow Brick Road, Gale Farm, Munchkin City, Dark Forest, Witch's Castle and Emerald City, which is there year-round.

Of course, we start with the Gale Farm and a certain crotchety old lady who seems to be looking for some mangy old dog.

 

 

It's a twister!!!!

Why look, we're over the rainbow now...

And could this be Munchkin City and Glinda; Good Witch of the North (actually South according to L. Frank Baum)?

 

Hello Scarecrow, Tin man and Cowardly Lion...

    

Now that's one lovely Yellow Brick Road.

Hmmm... I wonder where this path leads? And why do I keep hearing the sounds of screeching monkeys?

Oh no! It's the Wicked Witch of the West and her castle!

Is that one of her pets?

After a quick getaway from that wicked old witch, we look off in the distance to see the Emerald City beckoning us homeward. We must be out of the woods, out of the dark and out of the night...

Oh joy! At last we meet the Wizard and his Guardian of the Gates!

And here's the whole gang together once more.

Of course, once we leave the palace of the Wizard...

Then it's on to see what else the Illinois Oz Festival has to offer. There's vendors, food trucks and petting zoos, oh my!!!

I do believe I see Bellina the Hen clucking about.

And the biggest ear of corn I've ever seen!

And what Oz festival would be complete with costumes and cackling. Looks like Dorothy is sharing some stories with another witch. And speaking of Dorothy.

And many others as well.

Now that's a yellow brick road!!!

Now for the best part of the festival, at least in my own humble opinion. Every year, the organizers bring in Stephen's Puppets Marionette Show and their performance of The Wizard of Oz.

Notice anything unusual here? Well, I'll tell you what it is. Notice that no child is looking at their phone. None of the children have ever seen a marionette show before and they are absolutely captivated by it. Of course, it helps when the puppeteer is slightly odd, as Mack Raynor definitely is. His performance is always spot on and I truly believe his presence at any Oz festival makes it a far better festival. 

By the way... Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

Overall, we had a fun time as we always do when we attend this Oz festival... Despite the heat. We owe a special debt of gratitude to all the volunteers who made sure we had a canopy, table, chairs and cold bottled water anytime we needed it. I would also like to offer my profound gratitude to Park Director Jim Robertson for making us feel so very welcome. In addition, The Spirit of Oz Characters Group deserve a special thanks for bringing their love of Oz and their unique Ozian talents to this wonderful festival. We've worked with them many times throughout the past and they always bring the magic of Oz to children everywhere. 

 

Per ardua ad alta!!!!

2024: Another Fantastic Illinois Oz Festival!

    So, once more Amanda and I found ourselves on our yearly pilgrimage to the Illinois Oz Festive in Mapleton, Illinois, although we were unable to attend last year due to Amanda having the flu. Nonetheless, we were looking forward to this year's festival, especially sionce the weather was looking incredible.We were not disappointed as the skies were clear, temps in the mid-70's and a light breeze, which did pick up later in the day.

 We knew as soon as we arrived that we had made it to Oz.

 

The opening ceremonies were very well attended.

 And it would seem that the Spirit of Oz characters were have a wonderful time.

 

Afterwards, Amanda and I set up for a day of books, authors and Oz... oh my!

Before all the fun could begin, I made a walk around the grounds to check out the Land of Oz. There were plenty of Wizard of Oz vendors...

 

 

... as well as other vendors.

 

In addition, there were bounce houses, including the biggest ear of corn I've ever seen.

As well as a petting zoo, which was very popular.

 There were also plenty of food vendors to serve a wide variety of tastes.

And then there's the park itself.

For those of you who have never attended this Oz festival, you're missing the most amazing Land of Oz park I've seen anywhere. The town of Mapleton actually built a Yellow Brick Road/Land of Oz/Gale Farm House park in Butler Haynes Park... and it's quite amazing and a perfect backdrop for a Wizard of Oz festival.

There's the Gale farm...

and Professor Marvel's wagon.

 Then it's a quick hop over, (or in this case) under the rainbow.

Then the entrance into Munchkin City and a lovely spot where you can "follow the yellow brick road..."

 

... and into the Lollipop League's headquarters.

 Soon, a grove of apple trees appear...

... and then it's off along the yellow brick road.

 

 There were loads of children's activities along the way, including a scavenger hunt.

...And of course, an occasional Tin Man or Cowardly Lion to chat with.

What's this? A dark path off the road of yellow brick? I wonder where it leads to?

Looks like a wicked place to me.

Well, whad'ya know... It's the Castle of the Wicked Witch of the West.

After a quick tour of the castle, I decided to make haste back to the Yellow Brick Road.

Oh joy! It's the Emerald City. "You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night..."

Whew! What an adventure that was! Now, it's back to books and the lovely wife. The rest of the day was spent introducing folks to our very kid-friendly vision of Oz. Book sales were good and we got to see lots of folks dressed up for the costume contests throughout the day.

 

 

 

Looks like adults enjoy dressing up in Oz costumes as much as the kids. I do believe the future is looking very bright.

During the day, Stephan's Puppets, hosted by Mack Raynor,  performed a classic marionette version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Kids were just rapt with attention.

 

This was from the first show, but by the second show, the floor and the bleachers were just packed and I couldn't get anywhere near enough to get a picture. This show is always the highlight of every Oz festival I've seen them perform at. I'm convinced kids need more entertainment like this. Notice there are no kids looking at phones during the show. It's that good! Mack, the puppeteer is always somewhat zany, just like his predecessor Bob Walls from years ago. I guess puppets do that to a person. Every time I see this show, all I can think of is..."Thunderbirds Are Go!!!" Those of you my age or older get that joke.

By the end of the day, we were exhausted, but had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We got one very nice group photo of the Spirit of Oz Troupe at the gates of Emerald City...

Before I finish this post, I wanna thank Jim Robertson of Butler Haynes Park District for allowing Amanda and I to be the festival's Guest Authors for all these years. His support has been very uplifting for us and we are most grateful. I also wanna thank all the volunteers for their tireless efforts, especially those in what I have deemed "The Gang of Goons".

These folks are the backbone of a very successful festival, year after year. Amanda and I send our love to you and all at the festival for all you do. Without your efforts, we would not have done anywhere near as well as we have all these years in attendance. Per ardua ad alta!